Dear Hollywood: Cast Gina Torres As Wonder Woman

Gina Torres is well-known in science-fiction circles as a versatile character actress. She has been Cleopatra on Xena, a freelance assassin on Alias, an evil god bent on enslaving humanity on Angel, and a pirate queen on Hercules, among others. Her most well-beloved role, though, was as first mate Zoë Washburne on Joss Whedon’s cult classic Firefly.

Of course, a geek pedigree isn’t a good enough reason to hand her one of the most famous super-heroines of all time. But combined with the following, she’s the perfect fit.

2. Gina Torres isn’t 12 years old.

Why that matters: Trying to make Diana a teenager or keep her in the arrested development of her early twenties is boring. It’s Wonder Woman, not Wonder Girl. Audiences have seen the age-old “girl gets powers, girl learns how to use powers, girl has boy trouble” a thousand times. That’s not to say Hollywood should just age her up and give her man troubles. Part of the joy of her character is the decided lack of love entanglement. If we’re daydreaming anyway, just throw off the veil and make her a lesbian.

3. Gina Torres is statuesque and gorgeous.

Why that matters: If there is one thing Wonder Woman is good at, it’s making her presence known in a room — and not just for being beautiful, but because she exudes strength and power. That isn’t something easily faked; either an actress can command a room by twitching an eyebrow or she can’t.

5. Gina Torres tempers her badass characters with human emotion.

Why that matters: A large part of the reason Wonder Woman is such a tricky character to grasp is her stoic nature. Writers seem to have a hard time making Diana relatable. She ends up feeling alien, which she technically is, or robotic, as if human emotions are beyond her. The Princess of the Amazons deserves to be a strong female character without surgically removing all softness from her personality.